You will be able to see the Kenyan coastal reef via a Turtle cam on Periscope today at 5pm

Periscope, the livestreaming app owned by Twitter has been used all over the world by people to live broadcast events that are happening around them. The Kenyan government in collaboration with interested parties has decided to use the service in another way: Promoting tourism in the country.

The government through the @MakeItKenya campaign and in collaboration with @HerdTracker have the #KenyaLive tourist campaign that is geared to market the country to the world. Today at 5pm, the Cabinet Secretary for Tourism, Hon.Najib Balala @tunajibu is expected to release a turtle to the water and it will be broadcasted live on Periscope. The turtle will be strapped with a GoPro camera, codenamed “Turtle cam” that will share live underwater pictures along the reef.

Kasa Balala,the rehabilitated turtle is carried by CS Najib Balala. It's to be released back to the water today! pic.twitter.com/SPBfthFNel

The Cabinet Secretary was quoted as saying “The chance to watch the first ever live underwater pictures of a turtle swimming along our reef is an exceptional opportunity to show the world Kenya’s breath-taking coastline in an exciting and innovative way.” He was also quoted as saying “I hope everyone will log on and watch some outstanding coverage that has never been seen before and share the content on social media as widely as possible.”

As usual, you need to have the Periscope app downloaded on your phone and follow HerdTracker’s account so as to view and engage on the live broadcasts. You can also follow the @MakeItKenya, @magicalkenya, @HerdTracker and @WondersofWatamu Twitter accounts so as to be in touch with the action on the ground. If you won’t be able to see the event live, the replays will be available on the YouTube accounts of both HerdTracker and Make It Kenya.

This is not the first time the Tourism ministry has used Periscope to market the country to the world. One of the biggest tourist draws is the annual wildebeest migration in the Mara and last year’s spectacle was captured via Periscope in a similar campaign. It is good to see the government embracing social media to try market the country positively.